My Heart Says "Yes"; Brain? "Not So Fast"

ESPN - Debate: Is Tim Raines a Hall of Famer? - MLB

I really don't know, if I had to pull the trigger, cast a ballot, whether I could vote against him, but there's a thing in my head screaming, "GOD-DAMN-NAMBIT! REALLY GOOD IS NOT THE RULE. THEN WE GOTTA RE-LOOK DONNIE AND THIRMAN."

You Bet Your God Damn Ass He Is!

ESPN - Debate: Is Goose Gossage a Hall of Famer?

None of this "three outs" to earn a save shit. Most of the time Goose had to shut the door for three frickin' innings.

An Errant Thought

With what number will Manager Little Joe go?

"25"?

PLEEEZE.
"Okay, RoidBoy, hand the fucking number over."

And England's Dreaming....

NO FUTURE.
this is your Sheffield Steel:


Note the little Red Sox Nation, finger waving tyke towards the middle. He's gonna grow to beat the shit out of Manchester United's entire fan base, and then work his way north.

Or just rule Southie like Curley never could.

I LOVE that kid.

Hot Air » Blog Archive » British Muslim woman: I need a new hymen ASAP or they’ll kill me

What Shill Said

Talking to Mitchell Not Worth It for Schilling - Bats - Baseball - New York Times Blog:

I worry that not every name in the report is not a user, but how do we know which ones outside of the players who had specific evidence and testimony did it?” Schilling asked. “I mean Brian Roberts’s name was included, and I think people everywhere assume that, since he’s on the ‘list’ of names ESPN presented, he’s one of the guilty ones? If you read the report, his name was included because Larry Bigbie told the Mitchell investigators that Brian mentioned to him that he’d tried it. Is that right? I don’t think it is.

Still Digesting "The Mitchell Report"

but I find it lacking:
LeatherPenguin: Mitchell Report is (Fatally?) Flawed

Integrity of the game

I fully believe that the report on MLB substance abuse was a way for Used Car Bud to say, “Let’s let bygones be bygones and go forward.” Well, Buddy-boy, I say that’s too little and too late. You’re worried about the integrity of the game, huh? Then where were you in ’98 when your ascendancy was crowned with your being named Commish? You turned your back on the game. It was going on right in front of you and you chose not to act. Well, that was until congress got involved.

If you’re worried about the integrity of the game then I say this: resign. The Mitchell report was done to put the steroid era behind us. With that you should go to. As my Navy buddies always tell me, “The captain goes down with the ship.” Well, Bud-a-roo, you should go off into the deep blue sea powered by that report.

“But wait, El Jefe, who should be the next Commish?”

Glad ya’ asked ‘cause here’s two proposals: an elected commissioner by BOTH the players and the owners and one selected by fans by voting online

For the player/owner proposal:
1. Each team’s owner gets a vote
2. Each team’s player rep gets a vote

The candidates could be volunteers or chosen a la jury selection. Each side has ‘x’ number of potentials and each can have a number of ‘challenges’.

For the fan voting proposal:
1. Register as a candidate with your resume and statement of work on MLB.com
2. Fans register to vote and can only vote once

Yeah, there’s holes in each but just having the owners select the commish NEVER has the best interests of the game at heart OR mind.

A-Hole Throws Boras Under a Bus

The LoHud Yankees Blog | A-Rod: “It was a huge debacle”

I'm Shocked, SHOCKED! I Tell You!

ESPN - Source says information on Clemens will be in Mitchell's report - MLB

Giamroido, Clemens, Pettite, and....

Also, The Bergen (N.J.) Record, citing a baseball industry official, says "several" prominent Yankees will be named in the Mitchell report. The paper said the source spoke to a third party who had seen the final report.

"It's going to be a rough day in the Bronx," the paper quoted the source as saying.

I can't wait to see who is on the list; with all this third-party hearsay leaking out, it is gonna really be interesting to see if Mitchell's report actually offers harder evidence than just "according to Joe Blow...."

But if there are no Red Sox, Mitchell--a Red Sox director--will get crucified for whitewashing "his" guys while attacking the Evil Empire.

What if I Lend You a Gun?

Then will you fuck off and die?
Pavano Weighing His Options -- Courant.com

Sayonara, God-Zirra?

MATSUI MAY 'WAIVE' BYE:

"With Johnny Damon in left and Jason Giambi as the designated hitter, Matsui's playing time would be reduced and could be the reason he wouldn't stand in the way of a trade. In order to approve a trade, the 33-year-old, who is owed $26 million across the next two years, could seek an extension from the Giants."

I've got this niggling thought: could the whole Giant thing be a fakeout? Could the Yanks really be putting a package together featuring Matsui--instead of Melky--and one of the Golden Children (plus farmhands) to snag Yohan?

I have absolutely nothing to base this on, but I cannot believe the Yanks are just walking away from the Santana sweepstakes. I also believe, based on things I've read, that Santana will NOT waive his no-trade unless the trade lands his butt in da Bronx.

Seriously, if you're Yohan, do you want the Green Monster looming over your shoulder for half the season?

Thank God for the YES network...

Otherwise Carl Pavano's $40M minor league contract would be hard to swallow. C'mon! FOUR TIMES the Marlins payroll for a minor leaguer?

I'm Spitting on Their Plaques

The idea that Bowie Kuhn, Dick Williams, and that douchebag O'Malley are in The Hall, and guys like Whitey Herzog, Bert Blyleven, Jim Rice, Goose, Marvin Miller and Billy Martin are not is turning this entire election process into a goddamn joke. Bowie Kuhn was the dirty rotten SOB who was willing to go along with Ford Frick's idea to put an asterisk next to Roger Maris's name and treated Hank Aaron like dirt, fer chrissakes! O'Malley tore Brooklyn's heart out, leaving a stain on that borough's soul that to this day hasn't been washed away. And Dick Williams? You gotta be shitting me! Anyone who thinks he was a better manager than Billy or Whitey is just fucking ignorant.

Tick, tock

Screw, don't do it. Let the fuckin' Sawx have him or wait till next year.
SI.com - MLB - Yankees set Monday deadline for Santana deal

Mitt Romney Fails Math; Exposes RSN Wannabes

Will RSN Revoke His (self-claimed) Membership Card?

Duuude... don't even try playing baseball with Rudy. He'll eat you alive. Saying "Yankees Suck!" earns you nothing.


Seriously, how long did this jagoff write "Resident: MA" in his résumé? This guy lived in Mass for what? A dozen or so years? I do know one thing: Rudy knowswhat it means, back then, to say "1918."

Suzy is Off the Hook

Hawkins and Gage were the only two members of the Baseball Writers Association of America to cast a vote for someone other than A-Rod in the MVP race, and they both went with Ordonez.

"I saw Magglio play every day," Hawkins said. "What I saw was a player having an MVP year. I have no quarrel with anyone who voted for A-Rod. He also had an MVP year. But with the injuries the Tigers had and the effort and performance I saw from Magglio, there's no question he had an MVP year."

Gage uttered much the same belief.

"I went with what I saw," he said. "So many times, you have to vote off the stat sheet. I fully expected A Rod to win. He had a great year. But I saw an MVP year. There were stats to back up the impression that I came away with from the regular season."

A-Hole carried his team through a total pitching meltdown early in the season; your chump got dumped by the Indians.

Classless.

The Ultimate Homers

Sorry, Grandpa...I shoulda known better

So, how much is the Prince of New York going to get away with?



I would've thought he'd have learned something from his Granpa in Chicago...

Is there not a family resemblance?

He is SO Going to Jail

Kiss Cooperstown goodbye, Captain Asterisk.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Barry Bonds

You have to believe the Feds wouldn't file unless they believe they have a bullet-proof, dead-to-rights case against King Melon Head of Roidersville.

The Smoking Gun is there with the 'E-filing' indictment goodness.

See You Down the Road, Mo

Eat shit and Die In A Fire:
FOX Sports on MSN - MLB - Sources: Rivera wants 4th year in deal:

"The Yankees remain the overwhelming favorite to retain Rivera. No other club is expected to even approach their proposal, much less top it. But Rivera, who turns 38 on Nov. 29, has instructed his agents to shop him, in part because he was angered by Hank Steinbrenner referring to his age in recent comments about the Yankees' offer, a source says. Rivera has specifically mentioned following Joe Torre to the Dodgers, and his agents also are contacting other clubs about his availability. Rivera, sources say, believes he deserves the same length of contract as Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, who is on the verge of re-signing for $52.4 million over four years, and Mets closer Billy Wagner, who received $43 million over four years after the 2005 season."

Really... go fuck a coconut. The third year was free money, and you think you deserve a fourth?

Welcome Back, You Sniveling Prick (Updated)

A-ROD PLEA: TAKE ME BACK PLEASE

Rodriguez made the short trip from Orlando to Tampa yesterday and met with the Steinbrenner family and Yankees officials at Legends Field where, according to Hank Steinbrenner, the soon-to-be-named AL MVP informed the club he wants No. 13 back.

“Alex, at this point, wants to be a Yankee and is willing to make sacrifices," Steinbrenner said. “Apparently he has had a change of heart so we will see. He reached out to us through a third party and it appears he wants to be a Yankee."

The Post's Vacc:

All you hear, relentlessly, is that the fan's voice doesn't matter, that it's ignored, that it's irrelevant in our sporting world.

Mostly, that's true.

Just not this time. Alex Rodriguez heard you. He felt your wrath. He absorbed your scorn. If negotiations with the Yankees head where it appears they're heading - with Rodriguez returning, with the Yankees scoring a major coup against Scott Boras, bringing A-Rod back on their terms - then you are allowed a moment to stand up and take a bow.

Take a bow? My ass! His John Hancock on a contract ain't gonna do nothing to abate the absolute contempt in which we will hold that little shit.

Understand something, A-Hole: we are not merely gonna boo you like you've never heard before; ask Reggie about having to duck coins getting hurled at you on your home field because we, who pay your fucking salary, perceive you to be an absolute douche who only cares about the money. In his case, we threw silver; you get copper, cocksucker. "Pennies from Heaven," bitch. You're gonna have to top last year's start just to make us let up a little bit.

You hear me, Slappy? You have no understanding of what kind of world of shit you are in for if you don't deliver that 27th ring this year. After this clusterfuck you and Boras made us endure, you better pray to God and hope to hell he's listening, because so help me, if there is no World Series flag getting hoisted on Opening Day 2009, in the spanking new House That Darth Boss George Bought, you're gonna need a football team of shrinks to deal with the crap we will heap on your psyche.

OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN says:

"Kid? Remember: you buy the ticket, you take the ride.... but Jesus Christ on a crutch, I wouldn't want to be you this winter. You might as well just get it over with and change your name to "Mea Culpa" right now and maybe the Bleacher Creatures will let you live... but not that bitch you call your wife. She's toast."

UPDATE: I said something along these lines either here, or at the other joint:

More than anything, it apparently was the very public and seemingly ironclad dismissal by Hank Steinbrenner after the opt-out that made A-Rod begin to re-think his willingness to let Boras once again dictate the direction his career would take.

"That's why he called me, to ask if Hank was serious about closing the door on him," a second person said yesterday. "From what I gathered, Boras had been telling him not to worry about what Brian Cashman was saying about the opt-out, partly because they knew they had George on their side.

"But then Alex saw the shift in power, with the Steinbrenner sons taking over, and here was Hank saying 'Goodbye, we don't want you if you don't want to be a Yankee.' Those words really messed with his mind because he really did want to be a Yankee."

MEET THE NEW BABY BOSS!
NOT LIKE THE DARTH BOSS!